Warlock Wanted: Arcane Inc. Book 2

by Sean Stone

  I walked slowly towards the front. There was no sign of Rachel or her lackeys. They were all out of sight. The aisle ended halfway through the auditorium and turned to go around the stalls rather than through. I looked around one more time to check for anyone familiar. Still no-one. Not a single member of the audience even looked at me; they all kept their faces dead ahead at the stage. That confirmed that Rachel had used the serum to keep them quiet and obedient. I turned left and followed the path to the stage. I assumed that was where I was supposed to go. I came to the stairs to the left of the stage and stopped again. I did not want to climb onto that stage. I knew that as soon as I did the show would begin. Rachel’s game would start and my life would change and I doubted it would be for the better. I’d come here for a fight. A fight I knew that I could not win. Rachel had all the cards. She had more magic and more people. She even had hostages. I had nothing. Well, I had Ashley who had proven herself far more resourceful than I’d given her credit for but she wouldn’t be able to help me beat Rachel. The odds were too highly against us. And I didn’t want to put Ashley in danger. With any luck she hadn’t been able to get in. If I was really lucky then Rachel would have cast some sort of spell stopping anyone but me from entering the theatre. I knew that would not be the case though.

  I took another deep breath and walked up the steps. Each footfall was like a beat on a drum. And not a good drum. A war drum. Boom boom boom. The sound of death coming for you. Although in this case I was actually going towards death rather than it coming for me. As soon as my foot touched the stage the house lights dimmed and the auditorium was plunged into darkness. A moment later a spotlight appeared in the centre of the stage. I was supposed to go to it. It was another little test. Rachel wanted to see if I’d learned to be obedient yet. Well I might not be able to win her game but I wasn’t going to give her victory on a plate. I stood firmly on the edge of the stage and waited. If she wanted me in that spotlight then she could bring it to me. The spotlight wiggled to get my attention. I looked across the audience at the tech box but it didn’t look like anybody was in there. Rachel was likely controlling the lights with magic. I remained still. A loud sigh came out from somewhere in the audience.

  “Don’t be a wanker, Eddie.” The voice sent my arm trembling again. I held it still. There was no mistaking the crisp cheery, yet arrogant tone of Rachel Lecon. Cheery though it was, the menace was always there beneath it, to remind you that at any minute she might snap.

  “I’m not getting in that spotlight,” I said. My voice came out far quieter and mumblier than I’d intended. She’d pick on that.

  “What was that? You’ll have to speak up if you want the guys in the cheap seats to hear you,” she said. “Are you scared, Eddie? You sound scared.” I peered out into the darkness that was the audience, trying to locate her.

  “I’m done being scared of you.”

  “Your voice contradicts you. So does your body language.” Reading people was another of her talents. She had a lot of talents. Too many. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t use them all for evil.

  “I’m not the one hiding in the dark,” I shot.

  “Will you get in the spotlight if I do?” she mocked. A second light came on about halfway down the left side of the auditorium. There she was. She was sitting casually in a seat between two other audience members. Neither of them looked at her. They were looking at the stage. At the spotlight that I was supposed to be in.

  Rachel stood up and gave me a clearer view of her. She hadn’t changed much. She was a tall thin woman. She had long dark brown hair that had collected its first few wisps of grey. Wrinkles had started to appear on her face. I never knew her age but if I had to guess I’d say early fifties at least. Her choice of attire hadn’t changed either. She’d always boasted about being proud of her body, her breasts in particular and because of that she’d always chosen tight semi-revealing outfits. Unfortunately she wasn’t attractive in the least and the way she dressed was very unappealing. Tonight she was wearing tight jeans, a shirt that was very generously unbuttoned and to top it all off she was wearing a tight waistcoat that forced her boobs higher up so I could see even more of them than I ever wanted to.

  “I’m in my spotlight. Now you get in yours.” I didn’t move. “Come on, Eddie, you’re the star of the show. It can’t begin until you’re in position. Stop being a cretin and move your arse before I get angry.” Her cheeriness slipped away when she said the last sentence and her smile turned into a snarl. Instinctively my legs carried me over to the spotlight. I’d been on the receiving end of her wrath in my younger days. Apparently my subconscious did not want to relive it.

  As soon as I reached my position the audience came to life with a massive round of applause. Some of them even cheered.

  “Wow. You’ve really gone all out,” I said flatly.

  “Anything for my favourite. Don’t tell Cameron I said that,” she said coyly. Her anger had been covered up again now.

  “I’m not going to go with you, Rachel,” I told her as firmly as I could.

  “Yes you are.” She clearly needed convincing.

  “There’s no point in using the serum on me. I made an inoculant.”

  “I’m sure you did but I have no intention of using the serum on you. The show’s called Eddie’s Choice, not Rachel’s Puppet. I want you to choose to come with me. I want you to want to come.”

  “Well that’s not going to happen is it?” I said in exasperation. If her plan was to make me want to go with her then this was going to be a long night. A really long night.

  “Well, maybe not. But I’ll settle for you choosing to come out of fear. Or heroics.”

  On cue the curtains slid open to reveal the chorus members. Matt, Emma, Margie and Pete were all standing behind me in a neat row. None of them were moving but they all looked scared. Well, most of them. Matt and Emma were both terrified, Margie looked worried but not overly scared and Pete just looked bewildered. The audience applauded again. At what point would they cease clapping and finally realise what they were watching? A murder? I hoped not.

  “Let them go,” I growled as I turned back to Rachel.

  “I will if you come with me.”

  I let out a hiss of a laugh. This was pretty much exactly what I thought would happen. “I could just kill you.” That was my plan. To end it right here.

  “How will you do that?”

  “Magic,” I said, with a flicker of a smile.

  “Even if you could do it you won’t. If I die, they die.” She was so confident of herself. So self-assured. It made me want to kill her even more. Except I didn’t want to kill her, I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to cause her an eternity of pain without the hope of death. But I had to kill her for mine and everybody else’s safety.

  “Maybe I’m willing to take that risk,” I bluffed.

  “Maybe. I don’t think so, though. But, just in case you are. Guess who Cameron caught trying to sneak in without a ticket?” She said it as if she was talking about a toddler who’d stolen a biscuit.

  My blood ran cold as I saw Cameron approach from the other end of the stage. Ashley was walking along next to him, her face was creased with frustration. She looked at me apologetically and pleadingly at the same time. Apologising for getting caught and pleading me to save her and her parents.

  “Go and join the others,” Rachel said and she walked over to the others and joined the end of the line next to her father without hesitation. “Cameron gave her a little drink,” Rachel explained. The serum. “I don’t want you to drink the serum but I’ll happily give it to everybody else. And I did,” Rachel said.

  I held out my hand and conjured a ball of fire in it. “Let them go or I will burn you alive,” I said. My anger was coming but she didn’t look afraid. That only made me angrier. The darkness was building up with the anger. I didn’t want to let it out, not while my friends were around. The darkness killed without discrimination. The only people
I wanted to kill were Rachel and Cameron.

  “If you throw that fire you’ll burn the audience with me. Do you want that?” she asked. “Maybe you do. I can see the look in your eyes. That look tells me you’ve learned a valuable lesson since we parted ways. You’ve learned to do what needs to be done. You’ve learn the art of sacrifice. You’ve finally learned to be more like me.”

  “Shut up,” I hissed. Her prattling did nothing to calm me down.

  “Show me how ruthless you’ve become. Show me who you really are. Better yet, show Ashley. Your little sweetheart.”

  The fire vanished in an instant. I couldn’t murder innocent people in front of Ashley. She’d never forgive me. She had more morals than me. Higher standards.

  “Oh, come on, Eddie. Show us who you really are. Show us that you are more mine than you will ever be anyone else’s. You’ve been tainted by me. You are mine now and forever.”

  “Don’t listen to her, Eddie,” Ashley said from behind me. Her voice was faint and full of fear. I hated hearing her like this. “I haven’t known you long but I know you’re nothing like her. You’re not evil. You’re not a murderer.” I squeezed my eyes shut. If only she knew the truth.

  “Is that what she thinks?” Rachel asked. Her eyebrows rose on her face and her smile stretched. “Do you love her, Eddie? If you do you should tell her the truth.”

  “Shut up,” I said snapped at Rachel.

  “What’s she talking about?” Ashley asked.

  She turned to Ashley. “Eddie has killed before,” she said conversationally.

  “He had to kill Killian,” Ashley said defiantly.

  “Debatable.” She wiggled her head as if weighing it up. “But I’m not talking about him.”

  “Don’t,” I begged.

  “Come with me?”

  “No,” I groaned.

  “Who did you kill, Eddie?” Ashley asked.

  “The two officers at Mote Park. I thought the wendigo killed you. I lost control. The darkness…” I looked down in shame. This was not how I saw this night going. It was supposed to be a simple warlock fight. None of this confessing malarky.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ashley said at last. “I know you didn’t mean to. And I know you wouldn’t kill innocent people on purpose.”

  “You have found a stonker in this one,” Rachel shouted gleefully. “It’s a shame she can’t come with us. There’s only room for you.”

  “I’m not coming.”

  “What if I promised to cure you of that darkness that makes you do such awful things?”

  “Are you a therapist now?”

  She laughed. “You don’t need therapy. It isn’t psychological. The darkness didn’t come from any emotional trauma. Is that what you thought? That it came from all the horrible things you had to do when you came with me last time? No. And it certainly didn’t come from the corruption of magic either. It came from me. I cursed you, Eddie.”

  “You’re lying.” I glared hatefully at her. I knew it was true but I didn’t want to believe it.

  “Why would I?”

  “To trick me into coming with you. So you can pretend to cure me. And then you won’t let me escape.”

  “It’s true, Eddie. I cursed you.”

  “Why?” I stepped forward, my anger resurfacing. The darkness rising up.

  “Why? Why? To stop you from being such a snivelling little twat. I wanted you to man up. I wanted you to be more like me. Capable of doing whatever you need to. I wanted you to be darker. So I gave you some darkness. I’ll admit I’m impressed how well you’ve managed to keep it at bay. But we both know you can’t control it. Not now I’m here. That’s how the curse works. The closer you are to me the stronger the darkness will grow.”

  “You bitch.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m a bitch. So what? You want me to take that curse off you, come with me.”

  I considered it. I really did. Living with the darkness was not easy. Every time I got angry it was there, willing me to torture someone. I’d honestly thought it was because of trauma. I’d spent years trying to accept it as a part of my own psyche. A part of me. The idea of it being gone was thrilling. But weird. And honestly, if I killed Rachel then it would be controllable again. Like she said, it was stronger in her presence. If her presence were removed it would be controllable. “I’ve lived with it this long,” I said.

  Her smile slipped away again and this time I didn’t think it would come back so soon. “Alright, I tried being nice. Stage one!” she yelled.

  All five of the hostages brought their right arm out from behind their backs and revealed a shiny razor blade just liked the one used to murder my parents. They held them forward away from their bodies and awaited their next instructions. Now there was no difference in the fear each of them showed in their faces. Rachel had allowed them to keep control of their facial expressions purely to torture me. I couldn’t let this happen. But I couldn’t give in.

  “Come with me, Eddie. Be part of the family again,” she said.

  “No,” I whispered. I was starting to shake in anticipation and fear of what was going to happen. I would not be bullied. I would not give in. This was not going to end with me being a servant. It ended with her death or it ended with mine, or both. Those were the choices.

  “Stage two!” They each brought the blades to their throats and pushed them into the flesh. They waited. Blood beaded and slithered down the blades. I knew the next stage would kill them.

  “Which one should I do first? Ashley? No, let’s start with someone smaller and work our way up to the big one. Number…” she looked at her hostages, my friends, contemplating who to start with. “…three, step forwards.”

  Margie was number three. I held my breath as she took one step forwards separating herself from the rest. “Don’t you dare back down, Eddie. You already saved me once,” she said. She put on a stoic face but I heard the very slight tremor in her voice.

  “Marge, stop talking like that,” Pete said. He turned to me. “You back down, boy. Just go with the woman!”

  “Don’t let her hurt Ashley. That’s all that matters to me,” Margie said. Then she faced forwards and waited for the instruction to end her own life.

  “Last chance, Eddie. Come with me.”

  “I will not go with you,” I said. I’d like to say I was calling her bluff but I knew full well that it was not a bluff. Rachel didn’t make empty threats.

  “Alright, have it your way,” she said with a sigh. “Margie, stage—”

  “No!” Ashley and Pete cried in unison.

  “Silence. No more speaking from the hostages,” Rachel said. “I can hardly hear myself think. Margie, stage—”

  “Alright!” I shouted before she could say the final word. “Alright.”

  “Alright?” Rachel asked.

  “I’ll go with you,” I said. I couldn’t let Margie die to save myself. It wasn’t like Rachel was going to kill me.

  “And you’ll do as I say?”

  “Yes,”

  “You’ll gather power for me.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’ll follow all my instructions?”

  “Yes.”

  “No matter how horrible?”

  I glared at her. “Yes.”

  She nodded. “Prove it. Shay, come out here.”

  Shay strutted on from backstage and stood directly in front of me. He stank as bad as he always did. The guy seriously needed a wash. He still wore that smug expression as well. That horrible smile that showed way too many crooked yellow teeth. With a wave of her hand Rachel brought him to his knees and the expression vanished to be replaced by one of shock.

  “What are you doing?” he said. His face was like a frightened little bunny. I loved it.

  “Take his power,” said Rachel.

  “As you wish.” I put my hands over Shay’s. He tried to fight against me but Rachel was holding him in place. Not that I needed her
help. Shay wasn’t exactly a powerful warlock.

  “Rachel? What is this? I’ve been loyal to you!” he protested.

  “You’ve served your purpose.” She didn’t even look at him when she spoke. She kept her eyes on me. Enjoying her victory.

  The spotlight above us grew brighter as Shay began to shake. The magic in him gathered up and then flooded through into me. As the transfer took place the spotlight shattered and the light went out. Seconds later a new spotlight came on over us.

  “No,” Shay said in despair. “Not my magic.”

  “It’s not your magic,” I told him. There was no denying the satisfaction if felt from relieving him of the power. The power he stole from me in the first place.

  “Now kill him,” Rachel said.

  I raised an eyebrow at the command. I wasn’t particularly averse to killing Shay. It was just unexpected. I knew that Rachel would want me killing but I didn’t think she’d start with one of her own guys.

  “You said you’d follow my every instruction. So kill him.” Rachel was expecting me to refuse. Her eyes flicked to Margie who was still holding the blade to her throat. I got the message.

  “Rachel!” Shay cried.

  “Alright then,” I replied.

  “NO! PLEASE!” He begged and pleaded but I did not listen. I placed my hand over his heart.

  “I’ll make it quick which is more than you deserve.”

  “Eddie, no, please.” I emitted one blast of white hot magic straight into his heart. He dropped dead without another word. If he’d still had magic he could have blocked the attack but he was just a plain man. Nothing special about him anymore. I looked up at Ashley but she was looking out across the audience. Like Margie, she and the others still had the blades to their throats.

  “Now bring me his magic,” Rachel said.

  I took my time as I walked down the steps and through the audience towards her. This was my chance. When I performed the transfer I’d have a very narrow window. I needed to take all of her power from her and kill her before she could command anybody to kill themselves. If I took too long or fucked it up even a little then Margie would die. And maybe the others too.